Qi Condensation Fifth Layer

Seeing the three leave, Lin Chen hurriedly ran back to his room.

He spotted the rabbit plush still on the table.

His gaze swept across the table, noticing that a corner seemed to have been gnawed on by something.

The teeth marks on it were still clearly visible.

He quickly stepped closer, reaching out to grab the palm-sized rabbit plush.

"It's clearly cloth! Could it really come to life?"

He looked down at the table corner again. "This probably isn't an ordinary plush."

Lin Chen rushed to the kitchen, where there was meat and vegetables. He simply placed the plush there.

After watching it for a good while without noticing any change, he turned and went back to his room.

He took out the Storage Ring Senior Brother had given him from his bosom and slipped it onto his finger.

Looking left and right, a smile spread across his face.

This was an essential treasure for cultivation—how many people could never touch one in their entire lives?

In Green Mountain Sect, this was standard gear for inner disciples. Outer disciples couldn't even dream of it, and money couldn't buy it.

He dripped blood onto it and immediately sensed a connection with the ring.

It felt like part of his own body.

He probed his spiritual power inside and found a massive space a hundred meters square.

He immediately moved everything from his previous storage pouch into it.

It only took up a tiny portion.

This included a set of Top Grade Magic Tools: a sword, armor, and a protective jade pendant.

Even a Return to Origin Realm cultivator would have no problem using this gear.

Ten bottles of Qi Condensation Pills.

Lin Chen had asked the system: if he took pills in a spirit-rich secret realm and exchanged Spirit Stones for cultivation, it would reduce training time—meaning it would cut down on Spirit Stone consumption.

In other words, maxing out all buffs would speed up cultivation.

He previously had 150 Spirit Stones left, and now he'd gained another 1500.

Total: 1650.

One Yellow-rank Secret Realm Token.

And some basic talismans.

Senior Brother had also carefully prepared two sets of inner disciple robes for him.

Light rippled across their surfaces—they were all at the magic tool level.

But he couldn't wear them yet.

"Struck it rich overnight!"

Lin Chen's heart was brimming with joy.

To think that he, with his Five Elements Waste Spirit Root, had now become a hot commodity.

Who would believe it if he told them?

Compared to those outer and inner disciples, his treatment was countless times better.

Once he became the Sect Leader's personal disciple, he'd have completely ascended to the top in one step.

His status in Green Mountain Sect would also skyrocket.

"So, do I exchange for realm cultivation first, or for Soul Forging Art cultivation first?"

Lin Chen thought about his current situation and immediately decided to cultivate Soul Forging Art.

This spiritual art sounded like it was for strengthening the soul.

With a strong soul, he might be able to probe or resist those purple eyes.

"System, exchange cultivation to master Soul Forging Art."

[Ding, deducting 1000 Spirit Stones, exchanging for 1000 years of cultivation. Soul Forging Art advanced to Mastery. Sea of Consciousness unlocked. Spiritual power can be increased up to a hundredfold.]

How much?

Lin Chen couldn't believe his ears.

1000 Spirit Stones?

He wanted to curse.

Thinking he was rolling in wealth, he hadn't asked the price.

He never expected to spend so much at once.

"System, you'd better explain this clearly—"

Lin Chen roared inwardly.

[Host, as they say, the Dao is hard to cultivate, the body hard to temper, and soul cultivation drowns a sea of people. The soul is widely acknowledged as the hardest thing to successfully cultivate in the entire cultivation world—one careless slip and your soul scatters.]

"Still, 1000 Spirit Stones is too much, right?" Lin Chen still felt ripped off.

Was it easy for him to earn Spirit Stones? Money had to be spent on the blade's edge.

[Host, this Soul Forging Art is incomplete. You can check that Jade Slip now—it should be the middle volume of an upper, middle, and lower set, missing both ends. The 500 Spirit Stones were used to fill in the gaps.]

Lin Chen didn't believe it and checked directly.

He found that his mental strength had really grown a lot.

Before, examining a Jade Slip required pressing it to his forehead.

Now, with a sweep of his mental power, he could see it clearly.

It was indeed as the system said—this Soul Forging Art was different from the one exchanged from the system and transmitted into his mind.

The cultivation method and growth path in his mind were clearer and more direct.

The Jade Slip's version was fragmented; unless one's soul realm had reached a very high level, it was barely understandable.

He now seemed to understand the Sect Leader's intention.

Was this a test of his comprehension?

[Host, according to human cultivation realm divisions, only the Purple Mansion Realm can open the Sea of Consciousness. Such cultivators have at least a thousand years of lifespan, achieved through centuries of training, yet you already possess it ahead of time.]

[To advance to Minor Achievement requires 5000 Spirit Stones. At that point, the Sea of Consciousness stabilizes, the seven souls condense, and the divine soul is firm and hard to invade—resisting illusions and inner demons.]

[Great Achievement requires 50000 Spirit Stones. The Sea of Consciousness expands further, the three souls unite, allowing divine thought transmission, spiritual pressure, and attacks that can instantly scatter the souls of those at lower realms.]

Hearing the system's introduction, Lin Chen's eyes lit up.

He wondered if advancing to Minor Achievement could resist the invasion of those purple eyes.

It should be about right.

"5000 Spirit Stones—all counting on Jin Yuanbao now."

Lin Chen thought about the future demand for tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones, and felt a bit anxious.

"Can't rely entirely on storybooks. I need to find another side hustle."

Lin Chen was already scheming about how to make money.

Meanwhile, in the tall tower behind the courtyard, Zhao Qingshan's expression was complex.

He had just sensed a faint spiritual fluctuation coming from the courtyard.

No need to ask—it was definitely Lin Chen successfully cultivating the Soul Forging Art.

To be honest, giving this thing to Lin Chen made him feel somewhat guilty.

Because it was far from complete.

But it contained his annotations, so cultivating it would at most drain mental energy, with no great danger.

That was also the fundamental reason he was unwilling to let others practice it.

But Lin Chen was different.

This kid's comprehension was absurdly high—anything that landed in his hands, he could grasp quickly.

Except for his realm advancement being slow... Bah! Not slow at all.

He now suspected whether the Spirit Testing Stele had some problem.

Or maybe Lin Chen had hidden talents that hadn't been tested.

So, this set of Soul Forging Art was also a test for him.

As it turned out, his gamble paid off.

Lin Chen had succeeded in just over an hour.

The spiritual fluctuation just now wasn't strong, but it was certain—he had definitely entered the threshold.

Confirming this result, Zhao Qingshan was utterly shocked inside.

His eyes were wide open, like copper bells.

When he had cultivated it back then, he was already at the Purple Mansion Realm, and it still took him three years to fumble his way to the threshold.

Lin Chen took an hour...

My heavens!

Zhao Qingshan grabbed his own hair and yanked hard.

Then, he burst into wild laughter.

Lin Chen might be his fortune, and also Green Mountain Sect's opportunity.

This kid absolutely couldn't be let go.

"Maybe I should formally take him as my disciple tomorrow?"

"No, no, that would be too rushed. Besides, I already made a promise before."

"I'll wait and see for now."

One moment he was muttering to himself, the next he suddenly looked up.

A look of shock appeared on his face. "How is this possible?"

He sensed Lin Chen's cultivation aura abruptly surge upward.

A few breaths later, it surged again.

"How can anyone break through two realms in such a short time?"

Zhao Qingshan swept his spiritual sense over.

That was right—Qi Condensation fifth layer!

He finally understood why Lin Chen had been so calm when he laid out his conditions.

Given a month, he might even advance to Return to Origin Realm, let alone a year.

"Could this be the legendary Devouring Talent?"

Zhao Qingshan flicked his finger, sending out a strand of spiritual power.

In an instant, it transformed into a transparent light barrier, sealing off the air above Lin Chen's courtyard.

Lin Chen knew nothing of this.

All he knew was that his money pouch was empty again.

Only fifty Spirit Stones remained.

One thousand six hundred Spirit Stones—the Soul Forging Art was fully supplemented and cultivated to mastery.

His cultivation had also jumped two layers, reaching Qi Condensation fifth layer.

At this realm, he now possessed five Qi Meridians.

His spiritual power reserves had greatly increased.

Now, with Sword Flight, he should be able to fly for quite a while.

He also had a massive advantage: since he could exchange for cultivation, whenever his spiritual power ran dry, he could instantly replenish it.

Just thinking about it was thrilling—in a fight, his spiritual power would never run out, while his opponent's was limited.

As long as he moved fast enough and was agile enough, he could hold his own even against higher-level cultivators.

He would wear them down, even if it meant exhausting them to death.

"System, if I want to cultivate to the ultimate path, do I really have to condense Qi Meridians separately for each of the Five Elements?"

This was one point Lin Chen was struggling with.

If he did that, it would be like cultivating through the Qi Condensation Realm five times in a row.

Not only would it require a massive amount of Spirit Stones, it would also slow down his cultivation speed.

[Host, you are correct. And it's not just the Qi Condensation Realm—the same applies to later cultivation realms]

[For example, the Return to Origin Realm normally involves drawing qi back to its origin and opening the Dantian Qi Sea, but you would need to divide your Dantian Qi Sea into five regions, or directly open five Dantian Qi Seas]

Lin Chen nearly spat blood. Wasn't this asking for his life!